


Certainty

by Cognatio



Category: Kamen Rider Zi-O
Genre: M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love, Spoilers, emotional exploration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-23 17:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21323590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cognatio/pseuds/Cognatio
Summary: Geiz’s feelings for the destroyer of his world were just as complicated as Zi-O himself seemed to be. He hated it.(i.e. exploring how Geiz’s feelings for Sougo change throughout the show.)
Relationships: Myoukouin Geiz/Tokiwa Sougo
Comments: 3
Kudos: 43





	Certainty

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of NaNoWriMo 2019.
> 
> Any direct quotes from the show use Over-Time’s translation.

He was definitely sure that he hated Zi-O with every fiber of his being.

His smiles were putrid and dripping with malice. His eyes were like a fox’s—tricky and untrustworthy. His words were meaningless or childishly stupid or misleading on purpose.

For the third night in a row Geiz was peering through the crack of Zi-O’s bedroom door, watching his chest rise and fall in a slow and lazy rhythm while he lay splayed across his bed, throat bare, chest and head unprotected. He and Tsukuyomi slept with their bodies tucked in and one ear always ready to jolt them awake at the slightest hint of danger. He couldn’t begin to fathom how this kid could put himself in such a vulnerable state with two people wanting his life just down the hall.

He must be mocking them, daring them to try. The thought made Geiz fantasize about snapping his neck in his sleep or just shooting his head through the door and ending it there.

But the uncle would cause a scene if he made too much noise.

Another frustrated huff of breath escaped his nostrils and he snuck back to his room. Tsukuyomi was sitting up and staring at him from her bed, but neither of them spoke a word, only returned to sleep.

Yes, he was definitely sure that Zi-O needed to die.

If he didn’t kill him, then what would become of the future? All those lives lost that could otherwise be saved? The peace they dreamed endlessly about?

He tried—again and again.

“Let’s observe him,” Tsukuyomi kept saying. He could tell that she was hesitating. Did she really think he would give up on becoming an overlord just because she wished it hard enough?

Naïve.

And then there was Zi-O.

“I told you to quit! Are you trying to become Oma Zi-O?!” he yelled during a fight once. “Are you saying you don’t believe me?!” Just one more thing he wanted to hate the bastard for. Zi-O simply smiled and gently lowered Geiz’s arm from his collar.

“I do believe, Geiz. In you, and Tsukuyomi. Which is why I’m going to fight!”

And off he went again, but Geiz was still unsatisfied.

He decided it was too much to remain close to him, so he left one evening with a sack slung over his shoulder. He would only hesitate more just like Tsukuyomi was doing. Why did she think guidance would help? Smiling and empty words about being a good overlord and protecting people wouldn’t change what Zi-O would eventually become.

People didn’t change that easily.

“Running away from Zi-O, are we? I guess you’re just going to let the rise of Oma Zi-O happen.”

Geiz suddenly realized that time around him had halted, and two figures were surrounding him, blue and purple, training their sharp gazes on him. He stopped and straightened his back to avoid looking like easy pickings. If need be, his belt was within reach.

“I’ll stop him,” he asserted before making any rash decisions, “I already made up my mind.”

But the Time Jackers, like vultures, continued to circle him.

“Well then,” Schwartz said, “we share a similar goal.”

Geiz’s brow furrowed. “I’m trying to undo a nightmare of a future! I’m not like you Time Jackers, who just want to reshape it as you see fit!”

“You’re the same,” Hora calmly accused with a little smile. “You’re committing the same crime of changing history as we are.”

“You have already been defeated by him,” Schwartz added. “We should cooperate in order to achieve our goals.”

He didn’t know what to say to any of that. No counter would come to mind. The taller man glanced over his shoulder at him and smirked wider.

“Your silence speaks volumes.”

The enemy of his enemy was his friend, so the saying went.

He decided he couldn’t afford to be picky.

And look where it got him. Stuck in a hellhole. Served him right for even momentarily considering he could trust those damn Time Jackers.

He wasn’t sure what was worse: his situation, or that his only way out was Zi-O’s intervention.

“You don’t want me to become an overlord, right?” Zi-O (why were there two of them now? Oh to hell with it all) told him over the communicator screen. His face was serious in spite of the obvious trick he was playing with his words. “Then bring it back. I’m counting on you.”

The screen closed and Geiz was left there with a watch in his hands and a promise he wished he didn’t have to fulfill.

_I came to this era to defeat Oma Zi-O._

_Then why don’t you prove it? With your own strength._

Kaito Kumon led him to his only way out and he made up his mind again.

“Fate, huh?”

No more questioning. No more chances on untrustworthy people to help him accomplish his goal. No more doubt.

“Mark my words, I’ll change it. I will not let him become an overlord!”

With the roar of his motorcycle’s engine, he moved forward.

Stepping back into 9-to-5 felt a little foreign after he’d tried to leave, but dropping a bag of chicken on the dining room table helped him to forget that feeling for the moment and breach any sort of awkward conversation with the uncle.

“Welcome back,” said Zi-O, still serious like he had been before.

Geiz stared at him.

“I’m not here to make friends,” he stated firmly. “I’ve made up my mind. I will stop you. I figure it’s better to be close by when the time comes.”

“I see.” Neither his expression nor his threats seemed to bother Zi-O in the slightest of course; he just turned back into the same happy dolt as usual, grin and all. “We’re glad to have you, Geiz!”

He continued to stare in silence.

Geiz was definitely certain that this had been the best course of action to take when a pajama-clad Zi-O feebly tumbled down the stairs, yelping along the way. It had been child’s play to sneak into his room just before he’d woken up and then slam him into the hallway wall; the fool had still decided to sleep like no one could possibly attack him in such a state. He’d been warned plenty of times and yet he still acted like this was a surprise for some reason. Was he doing this on purpose?

Regardless, Geiz chased after him without missing a beat but Zi-O was faster in scrambling away. Did he really think running around would help? They were in an enclosed space, there were only so many places for him to go.

Alright, that was it. The belt was pulled from his pocket—

“ENOUGH! You’ll break something!”

And then Tsukuyomi came between them, snatching the belt away and glowering the two of them down. He should have expected this, he’d taken too long to finish the job. Next time he’d just go for a quicker kill before Zi-O had a chance to wake up.

“Wow,” a happy Junichiro exclaimed from the dining room, hands full of plates, “I see everyone’s full of pep today! I bet you’re hungry!”

Upon seeing the older man’s face in the doorway, Geiz begrudgingly decided to give up the fight for now. “First comes breakfast.”

His irritation only ignited further when Zi-O had the audacity to snatch his belt away from him at the table with his usual grin and cheery tone.

He was definitely doing this on purpose.

If that damned Kasshin’s appearance didn’t seal it, the world being attacked by Dai-Mazines did. And Woz’s excitement over it all along with Zi-O’s dream of this sort of thing happening were only further proof.

“This was by your command,” the lackey confirmed to Zi-O while Geiz struggled in his grasp.

He should have killed Zi-O when he had the chance. And by now, he’d had too many chances to make excuses.

Tsukuyomi found an abandoned building for the two to take shelter in and catch their breath away from all the chaos. Away from Zi-O. Away from doubts and distractions.

“I need to face what I’ve become,” Geiz admitted to his old friend as they rested. “I’m a soldier. Before I came to this time, I was prepared to prevent the cataclysmic future by any means necessary.”

“And now you’re not?” She must have been surprised considering all of his big talk and the times he’d tried to attack Zi-O both in and out of armor. But that was all it had amounted to so far…talk.

Soldiers didn’t just talk.

“There’s no way he could become a despicable overlord,” he continued, “at least, that’s what I told myself. That’s why I was being so soft.”

He’d been right from the start. Zi-O’s smiles were like a fox’s. There must have been a trick behind every single one, and he’d fallen for them anyway.

_It’s not too late. Get rid of the belt! Then you won’t become Oma Zi-O._

He’d foolishly hoped that guidance might work after all. That people could change.

Geiz looked Tsukuyomi in the eyes, mind resolute.

“I need to go back to being a soldier.”

Every time he thought he had chosen the right course of action, another hurdle appeared in his path, or he was blown off course against his will. Every time, it shook him. Every time, he was back to questioning himself all over again.

“Geiz…please destroy my belt. I’m giving up on being a king.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But Zi-O’s face looked honest. His hands were trembling. The happy-go-lucky naïve teenager wasn’t there anymore.

Was the fox playing another trick?

“Sougo…?”

“Please, just do it!” Zi-O cried in desperation.

With only a second’s hesitation, he complied. The belt went flying through the air and, with a few well-aimed hits, it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces before everyone’s eyes.

Kasshin fell into a lifeless slump, along with the Dai-Mazines.

“That was the solution all along,” Sougo said. A smile returned to his face, full of relief. He stopped trembling.

His armor dropping from his form, Geiz released a heavy breath from his lungs.

“You two can go back to your own time. I don’t think we’ll ever meet again, but take care.”

Sougo smiled at the both of them, blissful. All it had taken was a look in the mirror and now he seemed to be a completely different person—oddly grown up, understanding what the stakes had really been all along. And doing something about it.

It was really over?

“…Yeah. We’ll never meet again.”

Geiz turned to leave, but felt oddly unsatisfied underneath his stony expression. Like they’d missed something. Like it couldn’t be that simple.

“Come on,” he told Tsukuyomi anyway.

He could hear that she wasn’t following right away, but he didn’t stop walking.

They had a future to return to.

His suspicions had been correct. They’d forgotten about the Time Jackers.

No… Maybe Tsukuyomi had been the correct one all along.

Maybe people really could change.

There was only one way he would know for certain, and it went against his instincts and initial judgments.

“Will you let them get away with this?!” He held his driver out for Sougo to take, but the other teen refused to look his way, even though he’d so confidently and purposefully risked his own life to protect a child just minutes before. Even though he’d been so sure of himself through countless battles up to this point. Even though Tsukuyomi was in danger and Sougo was the only one who could do something about it now.

“But if I take that, I’ll become Oma Zi-O…”

Seeing the worry and terror on his face made Geiz’s chest tighten in a way he’d never felt before. Maybe it was because he was so used to seeing Sougo smile. As annoying as it could be, it was a look that suited him better.

“I thought you were going to become a good overlord?!” He shoved the belt into Sougo’s chest hard enough to push him backward a few steps. “If that’s true, then we’re good.”

The other teen finally met his eyes.

“I can’t!” Sougo then cried, and shoved Geiz to the ground.

Anger filled his core as usual, but this time he wasn’t exactly sure what it was directed at—and there wasn’t time to think about it anyway. Jumping to his feet, Geiz pursued Sougo and seized him by the collar before he could walk away. “If you turn out to be evil after all—”

He slammed him into the wall and leaned close.

“—I’ll take you out, I promise.”

Sougo’s expression hardened. The doubt was fading from his features.

“Just trust me!” Geiz shouted, almost begging. He couldn’t believe he was doing this.

Finally, Zi-O agreed and the belt was snatched from Geiz’s hand with almost as much anger as Geiz himself had just displayed. Where that was directed, there was no time to question either.

“I’ll become an overlord. And then I’ll save the world!”

He prayed he would.

The same dream, over and over across the nights.

In the distance, always within sight but far from reach, was a mountain more beautiful than Geiz could ever imagine, a paradise where he and Tsukuyomi could be free and their families and friends would be waiting for them.

The path to it seemed to branch off in a few ways. The first led him ahead in what seemed to be a straight line with the trail clearly marked, claiming to be short and easy to navigate. The second led him back toward the sandy, dirty remains of old cities and towns, with a sign that warned him of the imminent death that awaited anyone foolish enough to try climbing the mountain. He’d already decided against that way long ago.

The third path had seemed clear at the beginning of his travel, but soon led him through uncharted territory—cliffs, rocks, traps, poisonous plants, all manner of frightening things with no markers to guide his way, no warnings of possible dangers ahead, no map to refer to. Yet the first path was always within sight, encouraging him to go back to its clear, easy route. No need to trudge through the undergrowth, just come back. Why cause himself unnecessary pain, why make it more difficult than it needed to be? And indeed, it was far too tempting at times to change paths.

He knew he would soon have to commit to one.

“It concerns me that you spend so much time around my overlord.”

Woz raised an eyebrow at him over his book, and Geiz glared in return. He had said it quietly enough to not be heard in the next room over, where Zi-O, Tsukuyomi, and Junichiro were just about to start eating dinner. So Geiz kept his voice down, too, as difficult as it was to fight against his boiling blood.

“What’s your point?”

“As it is written, Oma Zi-O stands alone at his throne,” Woz continued, stepping close enough to Geiz to be a threat. There was no smirk on his face, making it difficult to tell whether he was messing around or being completely serious. “Regardless of what you may hope, he will not play favorites just because you look at him differently than the rest of us do.”

Geiz was a second away from punching Woz in the face or shoving him into the wall. The sound of Zi-O cheering a dish that Junichiro had just brought to the table was the only thing that stopped him. “What are you trying to say?” he hissed.

The book slammed shut in Geiz’s face. “You know exactly what I am implying.”

But he didn’t explain further and merely left the room to join the others for dinner. The anger was let out in the form of a fist against the nearest wall, but he followed after a moment anyway, throwing on a mask to pretend nothing had just happened.

Day by day, Zi-O’s power grew before their eyes. It wasn’t just the power of the Kamen Riders anymore. Time manipulation, future sight…he was becoming unstoppable in awesome, terrifying ways.

As long as he was still smiling and swearing to protect others then it was all fine, wasn’t it? He had to become this powerful to continue fighting the Another Riders. Geiz was always keeping an eye on him and his motives. He’d made that vow.

But Tsukuyomi’s eyes gradually filled with a visible apprehension that gave him pause.

“Geiz…I’m scared.”

He should have stayed a soldier.

He didn’t see a fox behind Zi-O’s smiles anymore, and that was a problem.

Living in the same home was affecting the both of them too much after all.

They swore to leave, but quietly knew an unavoidable battle was coming.

Tsukuyomi might be continuing on the path alone.

“You are fighting by chipping away at your own life. Will you really go that far in pursuit of my overlord’s downfall?”

They had their backs to each other, yet Geiz’s face was steely as usual. He didn’t need to give Woz any openings, no matter how small.

“My only goal since coming to this time has been defeating Zi-O,” he responded flatly.

“Is that so? As I see it, it looks as though you’ve developed a fondness for my overlord.”

The accusation made Geiz finally turn and glare. But even though Woz had turned to face him as well, he didn’t seem the least bit shaken by the unspoken threat.

“So why are you suddenly so intent on defeating him?” the prophet asked calmly instead.

Zi-O crossed his mind briefly, the way he looked so happy to see Geiz and Tsukuyomi every day in spite of being told over and over again that they would never be friends with him.

Tsukuyomi crossed his mind then, too…that weapon in her hands and her wide-eyed expression.

“I saw something,” he explained, eyes lowering. “Tsukuyomi was attacking Zi-O when he was just a boy. She was going to live with that blood on her hands, all because I couldn’t make up my mind. And then, she…”

Flames. The sounds of shrapnel striking the concrete. Helplessly watching, unable to do anything. Useless.

Geiz stared hard at Woz again, stiffening his posture into that of the soldier he’d been trained to be.

“My mission is to stop Zi-O. I could never feel any fondness for him.”

Unnecessary thoughts were forced out of his brain as he readied himself to attack.

The snow and concrete made his fingers feel numb.

The blood that had long dried on his skin was still forgotten about. A cloud of warm air formed from his mouth with a huff as he sat alone in this empty parking lot for a painfully long stretch of minutes.

“I figured as much,” he mumbled to himself.

But then, suddenly, there was the sound of shoes stumbling closer and closer.

With a small gasp he rose, ignoring the tingling in his fingertips from the cold, and bolted to the entrance ramp of the parking lot that Zi-O was now struggling to ascend. He looked terrible, his face bruised and cut and bloodied and his steps weak.

“Guess I’m late, huh?” he said with a smile upon seeing Geiz standing there. He staggered into the fence and grasped the metal wires, using his arms to propel himself the rest of the way up the ramp.

“You’re beat to hell, Zi-O.” Geiz wasn’t about to acknowledge that he was doing the very same on his own side of the fence, even when Zi-O called attention to it a second later. “Why did you even bother showing up, in that shape?”

“I had to,” Zi-O answered simply, making his way out onto the parking lot proper now. “A promise is a promise. Besides, with how things are…this was the only way I could see you.”

“What?” He didn’t quite know what words were about to come next, but he anticipated the emotion behind them nonetheless, and it made his brow furrow.

“Y’know…before I met you and Tsukuyomi, I never really had any friends.”

Now was the last time Geiz ever wanted to hear something like this, or see that stupid smile of his. He was always smiling, always so…always making this so difficult! Why!

“Don’t be stupid!” He allowed his feet to propel himself forward; it was better than staying still in this awful, awful feeling. Grabbing Zi-O’s shirt collar and yelling in his face was comfortable, he should do more of it. “We’re not friends! We’re about to have our final battle!”

As usual, Zi-O just softly smiled back at him.

“That’s fine.”

He placed his warm hand over Geiz’s wrist, seemingly to pull him away, but then Zi-O just stood there instead as he continued on, and the knot in his stomach grew tighter. He hated this. He hated how Zi-O made him feel. He hated the thoughts, the memories…

His father’s bloodied, limp, cold hand.

Zi-O risking his life to protect an innocent child.

Tsukuyomi’s sacrifice.

Zi-O’s warm voice that could melt a room.

Another Zi-O attacking him.

No, wait—that was happening right this moment, right in front of Geiz. He blinked as he forced himself to focus. In a matter of seconds, Zi-O was pummeled to the ground before his eyes and that hideous form loomed over him, ready to turn this whole parking lot red.

Geiz was seizing the monster’s arm before he could think any further.

“What is this?” the monster protested, pulling back against his living restraint.

Geiz tightened his grip. “Don’t touch him!”

“He’s your enemy too, isn’t he?” Another Zi-O scoffed, pulling a little harder against Geiz’s grasp. “He’s going to become an overlord!”

But Geiz held on with all of his might, hanging off the monster’s arm with the whole weight of his body. In his mind flashed a field of smoke and ash, bodies littering a collapsed resistance structure, his father taking his last breaths, Oma Zi-O gloating over it all…

And then there was Zi-O in silver, smiling kindly instead of with malice, looking at him with utmost trust in spite of everything, putting everyone else’s feelings first, coming to his final fight just to see his enemy again, and Geiz’s chest felt heavy and he didn’t know what he was about to say but he was going to say it anyway.

“Zi-O, become the overlord? There’s no way that’ll happen! He is the kindest, most trustworthy person I’ve ever known! And…”

He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t stop himself now.

“…He’s my friend.”

It felt strangely nice to say that out loud. Uncomfortable, but almost a relief, like throwing up after suffering an upset stomach. The words stung his lips and tongue but his body felt emptied and light.

Or maybe that was because Another Zi-O just threw him through the air.

“You must’ve gone nuts,” the monster growled.

Maybe he had.

But what else could he do?

He deserved this outcome, really. It was his fault that Tsukuyomi had gone to such desperate measures. It was his fault for putting personal feelings into his mission. He was a soldier.

And yet, now that they stood apart from one another once again, ready to fight for the last time, his hand refused to push the button on his watch right away.

Why?

_Am I imagining the hesitation I see in you?_

No, this wasn’t hesitation! It was…

And then, suddenly, a wall of marbled gray passed through them like a strong winter breeze and left one person behind when it disappeared. Immediately she turned to them, her eyes full of desperation, and she cried out to them as she ran over:

“Sougo! Geiz!”

Tsukuyomi.

Geiz’s heart leaped into his throat at the sight of her breathing, unharmed form existing in front of him, and the watch in his hand was all but forgotten about.

“Stop!” She threw her arms out between them as she continued to shout. “You might not need to fight after all! I’m not exactly sure, but there’s something else going on…”

His eyes went to Zi-O, who did the same back to him. Neither spoke a word, nor was a response expected from either. After a second or two, they quietly approached their mutual friend, who was still looking between them with frantic worry even as her arms lowered with the reassurance that they were not going to ignore her words.

Tsukuyomi seized Sougo’s arms, and it was clear there was a long story behind whatever else she needed to tell them. Her appearance alone—the fact that she was alive at all—warranted explanation after what Geiz had witnessed. There was so much about this that was beyond a simple short summary. So much.

Too much at all once.

For some reason, for the first time in as long as he could remember, Geiz’s face split into an awkward, exhausted, and joyful smile, and a genuine laugh erupted from his lungs and throat. He and Zi-O laughed and laughed a mutually awkward chuckle while Tsukuyomi gawked at the two of them like they’d gone crazy or she had missed something painfully obvious.

“What? What just happened?”

“It’s nothing,” was the only response she would get from Zi-O until they began the slow walk back to 9-to-5.

Meanwhile Geiz wiped the corner of his eye and placed his hands on his hips, still smiling to himself and staring off away from the other two. If they had asked, he would have told them he’d wiped blood off his face. It wouldn’t have been a total lie.

Friends.

He knew what friendship was. Friendship was having someone’s back and spending time with them. Friendship was caring about their well-being.

Tsukuyomi was a friend. He was comfortable sleeping in the same room as her and being around her and talking about complicated matters with her and holding her wrist if he needed to lead her somewhere. Actually, maybe she was like the sibling he’d never gotten the chance to have. The idea of a guy trying to flirt with her made his hackles raise and his finger itch for the trigger of a gun. Brothers were protective of their sisters like that, right?

Or maybe that was putting too much weight into their relationship. But they weren’t exactly just friends either. They had seen and experienced too much for that. Comrades in arms?

War made relationships difficult to categorize.

At least he was certain that he never considered the idea of being her boyfriend. Never had the interest and never understood the reason why others would waste their time on being lovey-dovey and holding hands and all of that crap. Some people had children to make sure humanity lived on in spite of Oma Zi-O, that he could understand. But who had the time for romance when death was a daily fact of life? When stable shelter and plentiful food and clean water were so difficult to come by?

Besides, wasn’t that kind of relationship only shared between men and women?

It must be something else he was feeling. That was the only explanation that made sense.

“You’ve been in love before?” he questioned Zi-O that day, legitimately surprised (along with even Woz and Tsukuyomi) that someone as childish as him could have experienced something so…mature. Or then again, maybe Geiz had it backwards and this was a turn he really should have expected.

Regardless, the way he felt when Sougo started describing his embarrassing kitty-cat love fantasy with this ‘sailor girl’ was like…

“Alright, enough,” he grumbled.

Disgust was the only reaction that seemed to make sense at the time.

“No need to rush,” Woz reassured the dreamy teenager. Moving over to his side, he firmly clasped his hands against Zi-O’s shoulders. “In time, countless women will fall at your side, my overlord.”

At least now he was making the same face Geiz was.

“Tsukuyomi…I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

Geiz hung his head a little so he could look at the dirt by his shoes. It was easier.

“The people from our time,” he said, a little hesitantly, “they aren’t like the people here. They only get together to produce children and keep humanity alive and strong. Isn’t that right?”

Tsukuyomi quietly considered his question for a moment, then hummed in disagreement. “I wouldn’t say that’s the only reason. Some people form close bonds and want to spend their lives with that person they deeply care about. Children can happen from that, but it doesn’t have to be the primary reason. Just like people in this time, they fall in love.”

“With all the chaos going on around them?”

“The hardships make them even closer to each other, I think. It’s like how you and Sougo became friends after all of your fights.”

Geiz frowned and stared at a particularly interesting pattern in the wood bench he was sitting on.

“Is there something bothering you?” she asked after a few seconds of silence had passed. “Are you thinking about everything that happened with Another Kiva?”

The dirt filled his vision again. He popped a couple of joints in his hands.

“No, I was just wondering,” he answered at last, and stood up from his spot. “Let’s go back in and plot our next move with Zi-O.”

He was grateful that Tsukuyomi didn’t question him further.

The paradise in his dream was getting closer and closer, he could feel it. With every watch gained, they made a huge leap of progress up the mountain slope. The Time Jackers couldn’t stop them. He’d finally chosen the right path to take and he would see his father again.

So why was it starting to feel like he was hoping to arrive at a different destination?

He decided to take a peek at Tsukuyomi’s tablet after everyone had gone to bed for the night. He could have used the computer in the dining room but he didn’t want to wake anyone by the sound of those loud, creaky stairs. He could have gone out to a library but he didn’t want to make up a story he couldn’t reliably tell. This route was more normal and wouldn’t provoke too many questions. Tsukuyomi had let him use this many times before anyway.

Looking it up would put his mind at ease and he could finally stop thinking about it, he told himself.

He accessed this world’s internet for a database of answers that 2019 could give him. He figured it would be more helpful than trying to look up 2068 answers that may or may not be radically altered by Oma Zi-O. Sweaty fingers hesitantly typed a search term into the browser and he braced himself for the results that loaded.

His eyes were drawn to scientific and slang terms that matched.

No, there had to be a mistake. Zi-O was male. He was male. Men couldn’t have children together, that wasn’t how it worked. Besides, they were from different times and they would split up eventually, never to see each other again, so why was he even worrying about it?

Why did he feel this way for someone who he had intended to kill before? Who annoyed him so much? Who had the potential to ruin everything? Who was so naïve, so stupid, so charismatic and easy to believe in, and so…

_Some people form close bonds and want to spend their lives with that person they deeply care about._

_You know exactly what I am implying_.

Geiz swallowed dryly and replaced the tablet with Tsukuyomi’s belongings, careful not to disturb her in the process, then he padded to his room in a daze, mind racing, hand running through his hair and wiping sweat off his brow.

“Doing some late night research, are we?”

Of course Woz was still awake and eying him curiously from his side of the room, a tiny lamp by his side being the only source of illumination either of them had. Geiz rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him with a frustrated sigh. “What do you want?”

Woz raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

“If looking up information about our next move is so strange to you then why are _you_ awake?” Geiz shot back while plopping himself down on his bed, arms crossed.

Woz smirked, then glanced down at his book. “I told you before that my overlord does not play favorites. Allow me to remind you not to delude yourself with unachievable fantasies.”

“I don’t love him, okay!” Geiz snapped, then stiffened with horror. Had that been too loud?

Then again, an Another Rider could break in and Zi-O would probably sleep right through it unless it punched him in the face.

“Oh, so you finally understand what I’m trying to tell you. That’s wonderful.” The book closed and was set aside, then Woz turned to lay himself down comfortably upon his bed. “Might I add, you have a habit of putting yourself in unnecessary denial.”

“You bastard,” Geiz grumbled in lieu of a better comeback.

“Get some rest, Geiz. We have much ahead of us to prepare for and I do not want to work with an exhausted ally.”

Woz flicked the lamp off and shrouded them both in darkness. As much as he would love to continue the fight, Geiz silently and reluctantly complied, resting the back of his head against his hands and laying flat against his mattress. But it took at least an hour of staring at the ceiling before his brain would finally allow him the privilege of sleep.

Another branch in the path appeared before them just a few kilometers from their goal.

_I came to bring you home._

Miharu Minato had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and he filled Geiz and Tsukuyomi with an urgency they had otherwise put out of their minds until now.

_What you’re doing is making things worse…you’re changing the past._

It felt a little too familiar to that argument he’d had with the Time Jackers months ago, only this time it was coming from someone who was supposed to be on their side.

_Stop acting like you know what I’m doing. Schwartz is the one changing the past._

_Well, you and Schwartz aren’t that different._

Yes they were. Schwartz wanted chaos and a future of subjugation and power. Zi-O wanted a future of peace. The decision was obvious.

_It’s wrong to interfere with the past. I want them to come back to the future with me._

But even if he disagreed, Geiz couldn’t stop thinking about the should of the situation. The morality of what he and Tsukuyomi had been doing all this time without considering all of the changes that their actions were causing. Were they truly making things worse? Did all of their efforts up to this point amount to nothing, because they should have never tried in the first place?

Minato seemed to think so.

_Geiz has a place to return to._

He overheard Zi-O telling Heure that and it wouldn’t leave his mind. At first he thought it was because Zi-O was sympathizing with a Time Jacker to begin with, but then his thoughts kept spinning and spinning. Did even he agree that his friends should just go back home now? While all of this madness with Schwartz was going on? After Another Zi-O had changed the timeline completely and nearly led Geiz to kill his friend all over again? Was he that okay with never seeing the two of them anymore?

It didn’t seem fair. It made him angry somehow that Zi-O would say that, even though he knew he was right.

…Had he been blindly selfish this whole time?

Despite all the tragedies Zi-O had born witness to up to this point, his naiveté never ceased to amaze Geiz.

After everything Heure had done, it was Geiz who was the bad guy for doubting him now. For wanting to protect his friends. For doing the right thing.

It wasn’t fair to judge Heure for his current actions, so Zi-O was asserting. But fairness was subjective. Right was objective.

One of them was being blindly selfish and it wasn’t himself.

“If people can’t change, then how do you plan to make a better future?”

And then seeing Zi-O nearly heaving with anger was enough to make Geiz’s brain go dead.

He hated this. He hated everything about this.

“You already ruined that future,” his mouth went on without him. “You became Oma Zi-O! You brought on the worst possible future!”

“But it’s still my future, and that means I can change it.”

He couldn’t see Zi-O’s face clearly anymore. He couldn’t hear the river in front of him.

“What the hell do you know?!” Geiz’s hand shot out from his side and shoved the other teen’s shoulder. It was like watching a scene from a movie on television, except he was the camera and his conscience was the captive audience behind the screen. “You’ll never know what it was like for us, we had to live through it!”

The look on Zi-O’s face shifted from anger to something Geiz couldn’t place and he might as well have been shot in the chest.

“You’re right…I won’t.”

Zi-O marched out of his vision, the sound of his footsteps eventually fading into the distance, and there was only the river in front of him now.

As his brain finally caught up to his situation, Geiz wanted to throw himself into it.

_But I ran away…I ran from that timeline, and came here._

Why had his mouth refused to work properly then?

_I know I should go back._

Why had he said those things?

_But I want to live in this era!_

Why couldn’t he say what he wanted to say?

_I want to stay with you, and create a new future!_

If only he could take it all back.

If only he could tell him the whole truth.

He imagined placing his hands on Zi-O’s shoulders as he spilled his heart the way he wished he could, as easily as Zi-O seemed to get himself into other people’s problems and care too much about others’ feelings. He imagined how warm and firm they felt under his fingertips.

There was a brief thought that wished he could feel that every day and he immediately retracted it in haste. No way. Too far. Too much.

This was friendship, not love.

And yet the thought kept returning.

“Tsukuyomi…I want to stay here after all,” he admitted, though he figured she knew already. “This era…this is where we belong.”

Next to Sougo was where they belonged.

There was visible relief on Tsukuyomi’s face, which told him their thoughts were alike. A similar relief filled his core.

He was sure that everything would work out now that they had agreed upon their new destination. They were almost there, and Sougo would be waiting for them.

He ached to see that smile again after this mess was all over.

Oma Zi-O was before them, Sougo leading the charge. This had to be it. If they defeated him and Schwartz, then everything would be the way it should be.

The difference this time was their teamwork, their alliance and friendship with the overlord destined to destroy everything. They’d taken him off that path. They were creating a new future. Together.

“And for the sake of those friends…you’ve decided to sacrifice yourself.”

Then Oma Zi-O’s words threw both Geiz and Woz into a state of shock that only amplified when Sougo ignored them in silence.

“What does he mean?!”

“I was not informed, my overlord.”

And right there they were cast back to their original battles with only that news and a war they still had to win. Helplessly, he continued where he left off and watched someone else die in his arms as the world crumbled around him.

The day he let Sougo sacrifice himself was the day he’d stop fighting for good. And that day wasn’t about to come now. For either of them.

He appeared sprinting at full speed, calling to Tsukuyomi. He was alive. Whatever sacrifice he’d planned to make, it must not have happened. Right?

Still, Geiz was a mixture of happy and angry to see him again.

_Don’t ever say you’ll do something stupid like that ever again_, he wanted to tell that idiot when he had the chance.

He never got the chance.

He’d ran for him without thinking.

The pain was so great that he could hardly move at first. His legs were numb, his head was pounding, his ribs were definitely cracked, and he tasted blood in the back of his mouth. A cough that forced its way out of his throat sent sharp pains through his lungs and stomach. Dust filled his unfocused and scattered vision and this wall would be the last thing he’d ever see.

If he had remembered the internal promise he’d made just a day before, he probably would have laughed at himself.

“Geiz! Stay with me!” And there was Sougo’s voice and his face leaning over him, holding him, worrying for him. It was the only sensation that felt nice in the moment. He’d much rather die with this kind, gentle face in his vision than some damn wall.

Some part of him still hoped that Tsukuyomi’s betrayal had been for a good reason, after everything. Sougo had taught him that much over the course of their friendship together. As long as he was alive and had the will to fight, then Geiz could accept this turn of events, no matter what Tsukuyomi’s plans were. Sougo could do anything.

Sougo was everything.

“Zi-O…” With the little strength he had left, he desperately guided his bloodied hand to clutch Sougo’s shirt. “Become Oma Zi-O,” he begged, “the ruler of time…”

“But…but...”

“You can do it.” His fingers gripped tighter through the pain. He didn’t want to let go. Not yet. “You can be the greatest overlord…”

Tears were rolling down Sougo’s flushed cheeks as he shook his head in protest. He was heaving, too, but not because his body was seconds away from giving out like the one in his arms. “Geiz, please don’t die!”

Geiz felt some remorse at the sound of his plea. He briefly wished Sougo hadn’t been able to find his body somehow, even at the expense of being able to speak to him one last time. But it was too late for that. The only thing he could do now was correct his greatest regret.

“I was happy, y’know…happy that I came to this time…Sougo.”

His mouth was moving on its own again. He wasn’t about to know anymore how his words would affect their recipient, but he didn’t care. He was done hesitating.

“Being your friend…”

He wanted Sougo to know.

“Living with you…”

He definitely wanted him to know, desperately wanted him to know the things he should have said ages ago but never knew how to verbalize, never gained the courage when they were alone and Sougo’s beautiful brown eyes were making contact with his own. Maybe, possibly, he was overreacting about his situation and he would just fall into a hypovolemic state of unconsciousness and wake up in the hospital later and everything would be fine. Schwartz would be defeated and Tsukuyomi would be back with the rest of them and Sougo would be the king he’d dreamed of becoming. He’d even put up with Woz hanging around obsessively praising his overlord, whatever. As long as Sougo was there, smiling the way he always would, believing in people like he always would, and Geiz could continue to see that smile for the rest of his life, by his side…

Then he would definitely

The weather had been peaceful for the past week or so now. Not too hot, not too cool. More days with sun than rain. Just right for training or walking home from school with friends.

Geiz squinted into the bright evening sunlight, shielding his face with one hand. Just a few steps ahead was Sougo, walking his bike and grinning like they hadn’t just gone through one of the toughest exams of their high school career. Heure was keeping pace on the other side of his bike and teasing him about how he’d put ‘becoming a king’ on yet another vocational survey. Behind them, Geiz could hear Hora and Tsukuyomi gossiping about something just a bit too quiet for him to understand, but he didn’t really care to know anyway. It was probably about the test or their weekend hiking plans or something only they liked to talk about.

His eyes were on Sougo.

At the usual street corner it was time to split. Heure and Hora down one way, he and Tsukuyomi down another, and Sougo on his own. But this time Sougo met his eyes, still grinning. It was always a nice look on him.

“Hey Geiz, mind coming with me for a bit longer? I want to ask you something.”

He blinked, a little surprised and confused. “Sure,” he answered after a pause, before adding, “but don’t take too long. I told my dad I’d be home earlier today.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

Still a little confused, he nodded his farewells to the others and watched them go their separate ways. A small squeak from Sougo’s bike tires reminded him to not fall behind.

He followed down a path he was rather familiar with from the many times he’d visited Sougo’s home and been treated kindly by his uncle. The dozens of clocks hanging on the walls, the creaky wooden stairs up to the bedrooms, the big table in the back where too many plates of food were often waiting, the baggy pajamas Sougo would trudge downstairs with in the morning while wiping the sleep out of his eyes, the physics books he’d nap on whenever his friends offered to tutor him…

“Hey Geiz, are you happy?”

The question pulled him away from the Sougo in his mind and put his focus back on the Sougo in front of himself. Another series of rapid blinks followed as Geiz tried to make sense of such a question. “What are you talking about?”

Sougo was still walking, still looking ahead and smiling. The sunlight made his facial features glow, almost kingly.

“You think I’ve been upset or something lately?” Geiz pressed. He jogged a little bit to pass him so he could look Sougo hard in the eyes. It made his friend stop, but it didn’t affect his grin one bit.

“No, not at all,” he reassured, and then his eyes seemed to focus somewhere distant for a moment. For a guy so weird and naïve, it was oddly mature-looking. “I just…I really value your friendship.”

Geiz’s chest tightened a bit and he frowned reflexively.

“And the others are so happy with their lives right now, so I just wanted to make sure you were, too. You’re always kinda grumpy, so I figured I better ask.”

“What’d you say?” His voice raised and he took a defensive step forward. Of course, Sougo didn’t budge. He just laughed, the dimples on his cheeks becoming more pronounced, the sunlight turning his brown eyes into a mesmerizing amber.

“So, are you happy right now?”

“Of course I’m happy! What’d you think, that I was just mad at you all the time, or something? That I was sad? What gave you that idea?!”

Sougo gazed at him quietly for another moment, his smile briefly becoming more subtle, then nodded his head. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m happy too, Geiz.”

“Of course you are, you better be happy!” Geiz snapped, fingers itching to grab his collar for acting so…strange and weird all of a sudden, he didn’t understand this nor Sougo laughing and patting him on the shoulder with one warm, comforting hand.

“That’s all I wanted to know. See you tomorrow, Geiz.”

Sougo then hopped onto his bike and began to ride away, leaving his friend standing there speechless, bewildered, and a little irritated. What was that supposed to be about? What was he trying to say?

His chest tightened again at the possibilities that ran through his head and he crossed his arms over it, glaring at the silhouette of Sougo disappearing in the sunlight down the street ahead.

He wasn’t sure what to think, but he _was_ sure that he was happy—of course he was!

And he was pretty sure that it was because of Sougo.


End file.
